Door-latch



W. A. FREEMAN.

DOOR LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21, 1919. 1,337,447. v Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

I 1 2 SHEETSSHEET 1. h 5

W. A. FREEMAN.

I DOOR LATCH. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, I919 Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I Z Q6 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. FREEMAN, 0F HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA.

DOOR-LATCH.

Application filed February 27, 1919.

To all whom it may camera) :Be it known that I, VILLIAM A. FREEMAN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Hamilton, in the county of \Ventworth and Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Door-Latches, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements to door latches, and more particularly to latches for heavy doors such as those of large refrigerators, and consists essentially of an exterior pivoted lever engageable with a keeper element which is adjustably secured to a door sash plate, the keeper element being provided with a roller for elimination of friction during the act of engagement and for facilitating the same thereby, together with an interior handle cooperative with said lever, and means for tensioning the same to normal position.

The invention has for its object the provision of a latch which will rigidly retain heavy doors in closed position,.and at the same time be self latching and easily operated to release.

A further object is to provide a latch of the class specified which will be simple, du rable, efiicient in operation and inexpensive to manufacture.

These, together with further objects which will be revealed as the description proceeds, are attained by the combination, construction, and arrangement of the parts as will be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is an exterior front elevation of the entire latch, Fig. 2 a top view of the exterior lever, Fig. 3 a side elevation of the keeper element, Fig. i an interior front elevation of the entire latch, Fig. 5 a top view of the interior handle, and Fig. 6 a side elevation of the inner door plate.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

A indicates the exterior lever which is rigid with a shaft 2 passing through the door B and journaled in plates 3, 4, respectively in the outer and inner side of the door. The said lever is provided. with an offset handle 5.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

Serial No. 279,476. I

C designates the keeper element plate on the door sash D. The said plate is provided with an integral horizontal projecting ledge 6 which is transversely corrugated over the outer portion of its lower surface as indicated by 7. The said plate is provided, for perpendicular adjustment purposes, with vertically disposed slots 8 through which screws 9 pass to secure to the door sash.

The keeper element E is corrugated over its upper surface to engage the corrugations 7 in the ledge 6 to prevent longitudinal displacement, and is secured to said ledge by a bolt 10 passing through a longitudinal slot 12 in the ledge and threaded into the keeper. It will appear that said keeper may be adjusted longitudinally with the ledge by loosening the bolt 10. The keeper is provided with a roller 14: which is transversely journaled in a pair of integralcurved shoulders 15.

The top and bottom of the lever A are flat, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and its sides taper to central blunt ed es 16, 18. The roller engaging edge 16, when said lever is latched, falls at a point above the horizontal center line 17 of said roller, and in contact with the circumferential surface thereof, thereby retaining itself in rigid latched po sition. The said lever is provided with sufficient resiliency to permit it to pass the center line 17, while in act of latching and unlatching, actuated by the handle 5.

The outer side of the keeper element E is suitably tapered in order to provide selflatching means for the lever A when the door 13 is pushed into normal closed position.

F is the interior handle rigid with the shaft 2, and cooperative with the lever A. The said handle is offset, as shown in Fig. 2, and is provided with an integral stud 19 having secured to it a spiral spring 20, the opposite end of which is attached to the lower portion of a spring casing 21 by a bolt 22. The said spring is for the purpose of retaining the lever A in normal position through the medium of the handle F. The said spring casing is rigidly secured to the door B.

The plate 4 is provided with an integral stop member 23 for the purpose of limiting the down stroke of the handle F, and there by, the up stroke of the lever A.

Having now fully described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a device of the class described, the combination With a shaft journaled in the door, of a handle rigid with said shaft on one side of the door, a spring secured to the handle and to the door, a lever rigid with said shaft on the other side of the door, a keeper rigid with the door sash, a roller having bearing in the keeper, the said lever expanding later-ally to a blunt edge paralleling the longitudinal horizontal center thereof, said edge adapted to fall at a point beyond the horizontal center line of the roller and to self tensi'onally engage the same when the lever is in normal position.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a shaft journaled in the door, of a handle rigid with the shaft on one side of the door, a spring secured to the handle and to the door, a lever secured to said handle on the other side of the door, a plate vertically adjustable to the door sash and provided with an integral horizontal q ledge corrugated on one surface, a keeper M provided with corrugations engaging the corrugations in said ledge, and means for adjustably securing said keeper to said ledge, a roller having bearing in said keeper, 3 the said lever expanding laterally to a blunt edge paralleling the longitudinal horizontal center thereof, the said edge adapted to fall at a point beyond the horizontal center line ofv the'rol-ler and to self-tensiona'lly engage thesame when the lever is in normal positio-n.

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature.

NM. A. FREEMAN. fitness:

G. IILENDRY. 

